Album Review - Megadeth - Rust In Peace

Looking back at the Megadeth discography, this one has always been my favourite. The high amount of technical abilities and ultra fast rhythm section is a very special feature on this release.

The album opens in great style with Holy Wars; a perfect example of a genius technical Metal track. The riffs are very fast but still hold a high level of melody. The thing that makes this such a great song is the diversity of the different passages. In just over 6 ½ minutes a great deal of changing parts and brilliant passages are created. Dave sings with a lot of power, his vocal also has a very clear edge; I think his voice is nicely fitted to each song.
The bass is working fantastic on this one, filled with depth and detailed contributions. The slower part that goes into a furious guitar riff sounds genius. This is clearly one of the best Megadeth songs.

Hangar 18 is a song that relies very much on the lead guitars. Both the rhythm and the very extensive solo part display many fantastic lead elements. Through the album the guitars are working extremely well, genially played with lots of intensity. Here once again the bass sounds phenomenal, adding to every aspect of the rhythm with technical flair.

The diversely played drums come to light in Take No Prisoners, a song with some bombastic dark choruses that fit nicely. All instruments are combined in a way that breed's aggression, it sounds like the band puts every available energy into this song.

With Five Magics a more complex approach is attempted. There are many different layers in the music to discover, which of course is a good thing. The pace is more mid-tempo but with nice variations a long the way, ending in a great fireworks of talented playing.

Poison Was The Cure starts with some great dark bass accompanied with some slow drums. It sounds fantastic when the Heavy guitars sets in and the songs explodes. A short but extremely powerful song.

Lucretia is one of the least well working aspects of this fantastic album. The grooving rhythm is functioning, without being exactly exciting. I miss some of the untamed elements of the other songs. The many changes in the song sound good, but its like the thin thread is partly missing.

Tornado Of Souls is one of the most melodic Megadeth songs. The chorus is catchy and sung with perfect emotion. I very much like the slower middle part, that goes into a great harmonious guitar passage. This song has a lighter atmosphere, which fits perfectly into the whole.

The very short Dawn Patrol is a just above average song, the rhythm quickly becomes a bit monotone. Vocally I find it too odd and strange because the voice is distorted, the dark atmosphere and grooving bass is combined nicely though.

In Rust In Peace.Polaris on the other hand, the different vocal parts works well. A fast and hard rhythm based song with a great break and a very intense ending, featuring great lead guitar melodies.

Nick Menza's drumming is also very much worth mentioning. I highly regard the detailed double bass drums and the high amount of power his drumming has. Its corporation with the bass is really of high standard.

For the year 1990 the production is very good, the instruments are weighed out nicely and the vocals fitted in perfect. It could have been even better if more depth was added; sometimes the sound seems a bit too "trebled".

The aggressive and angry feeling that many songs have melts nicely together with the lyrics. Abuse of technology, and the effect on nature by humans are central topics in Dawn Patrol and Rust In Peace.Polaris. More personal feelings come to light in Poison Was The Cure, about broken love and confusion, written in an interesting metaphorical style.

A very critical view on war and its victims is featured in Holy Wars.The Punishment Due and Take No Prisoners, while Five Magics offers a nice break into a fantasy world concerned with mystics and magical adventures.

Overall the lyrics are pretty good and some very interesting because they don't give them self away easily.

A fantastic musical performance, full of intense songs carried out with great technical ability.

Written by Tommy
Thursday, May 1, 2003
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Tommy: 9/10

Members: 9/10 - Average of 1 ratings.

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Comment by kevtallica (Anonymous) - Friday, May 2, 2003

what no comments? I freakin love this album minus Dawn Partol....I just never got it. The interplay of the guitars during the solos is simply amazing though.

Comment by Deth or Peth (Anonymous) - Tuesday, May 6, 2003

The Greatest Heavy Metal album of all time no questions asked

In the eye of the tornado

Comment by Mick Øendal der... (Anonymous) - Thursday, May 22, 2003

Well an ok album but no way better than Countdown To Extinction... which has an overall better sound on the tracks... that is the classic, this is just below a classic album...

Comment by motleyman (Anonymous) - Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Well this is probably the finest technical album ever made, by a metal band. A true Bibel! Megadeth`s gratest!
It`s up there with Slayers "Reign in blood"

Comment by Amit (Anonymous) - Monday, July 28, 2003

RIP is a fucking brilliant album IMHO, Megadeth's best offering to date. It rips into 'Holy Wars..the punishment due', all the way upto 'Rust in Peace Polaris'. Tommy didnt like 'Lucretia' but in my view its an excellent track, with a kickass beginning and a nice middle to it, especially when the chunky riffing builds up and friedman launches into the most fluid lead of the album.
Buy the album today.

Comment by Tommy (Member) - Monday, July 28, 2003

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Comments: 74
Ratings: 31

Hey Amit. It surely is Megadeth's best work in my book too. About Lucretia its not that I don't like the track, I do, but compared to the rest of the songs I think that its overall flow isn't quite as thrilling.
Anyway this really is a pure classic Metal album.

Tommy
RevelationZ Magazine

Posted by Tommy
Monday, July 28, 2003

Comment by Keshav (Anonymous) - Thursday, July 31, 2003

Can lead guitar playing get more sensuous than "Hangar 18"? Can you ever find a punchier, more violent riff than the end to "Rust in Peace...Polaris"?
Can progressions get more exciting than the changeover from slow to hyperspeed in "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due"?
I don't think so.... this album is an ALL-TIME metal masterpiece.
Marty is the best lead player out there, as is Mustaine for speed metal riffs and Menza for pounding double bass mayhem.
I give it 10/10 without a doubt. This album beats even Master of Puppets hollow.

Comment by CTE (Anonymous) - Thursday, July 31, 2003

Hey Mick... get a life. Countdown to Extinction doesnt stand a chance before RIP. The energy of RIP or Peace Sells isnt there at all.

Comment by trav (Anonymous) - Tuesday, August 19, 2003

this album will rust in peace as one of, if not the best metal album of all time.

Mustaine rocks

Comment by Truth hurts, dunnit (Anonymous) - Sunday, August 31, 2003

The album is great... for Megadeth. 5 magics and holy wars are rippers, but the album cannot touch reign in blood (or any other slayer) or master of puppets as others have said. They will always be known as a 2nd rate metallica...

Comment by madman bob(not really); } (Anonymous) - Thursday, January 8, 2004

It's all true...What an opening track-you cannot describe this album, or atleast I can't succesfully.
The guy is bullshit good(?the? guy...all of 'em) and I wish they could appear at the big day out on my bithday...Feb1 in Perth,W.A.
"Howsthat"-almost every year the Big Day Out is on my birthday-petty they are such cunt's-Metallica is playing this year!!!!!!!!!!2004-but when Sepultura pulled out they wouldn't give me back a dime...who the hell else am I gonna go see-anyway life's O.K. when Metallica's playing for your birthday-hey...bye;}

Comment by madman bob(not really); } (Anonymous) - Thursday, January 8, 2004

Iron Maiden aren't too bad-
Slayer is cool...sicko-
I like the songs (album?) face the slayer and Necrophiliac(+_ more of course these guys are true geniuses)...the one that sounds like he's saying"homicidal maniac"-different albums I think...slayer are truly psycho...Good heavy metal is hard to find because of all the shit that you have to listen to to find the gems..life!!
Are Judas Priest anygood-if someone tells me what's good I'll give it a go...A band in Perth(W.A.) called Mutt used to play Last Caress...and I thought that was way cool-I used to buy Microdots off the bloke and , I don't recommend double dropping those mystery pills-you know the guy in Bali...jumped off the roof several times and stabbed himself with the a bottle(there's several versions)-----=Microdots:-{..a friend..
Live after death is a good one:Iron Maiden;
Hand of Doom by Black Sabbath is a good'un(Paranoid album).

G'on: gimme some leads!

Comment by zxcv (Anonymous) - Sunday, January 25, 2004

i wonder if i´m the only who thinks countdown to extinction is much better. RIP is really good but a little overrated

8/10

Comment by Josh Reese (Anonymous) - Saturday, March 6, 2004

rust in peace was by far the greatest album megadeth ever composed. dave mustaine is a true musical genius. i was a metallica fan for the longest time, and this album made me question who was better. other albums like 'countdown' 'so what?' 'peace sells' and 'killing' i thought were untouchable until i heard rust in peace. (got them out of order being that i was born in 87).
in a few words, most bands u listen to will wrestle your nostrils compared to megadeth (a.k.a they stink)

Comment by josh reese (Anonymous) - Saturday, March 6, 2004

on a minor note
slayer blows compared to megadeth
second rate metallica my ass, although master of puppets is my favorite album, the only other close album is rust in peace.
I'll tell the rest of you where u can stick your comments

Comment by ToS (Anonymous) - Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Second rate Metallica? Are you for real? Master of Puppets is one of the greatest albums of thrash or any other genre but it's immensely overrated. RIP is among the best 5 albums of all time, period. It doesn't get any better than this.